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I’m guessing they’re hoping there’s no strike in the MLS, otherwise there won’t be much content to create for a while.
Major League Soccer announced Wednesday that it has hired Greg Lalas as editor in chief and Jonah Freedman as managing editor to lead a new website editorial team. The two highly-respected soccer journalists will oversee the editorial staff for MLS’ new web site scheduled to launch in early March. Lalas and Freedman also will work closely with the 16 MLS clubs which are re-launching their respective web sites soon. "Greg and Jonah provide us with a unique combination of extensive journalism and multimedia expertise and deep connections to the sport of soccer," said MLS President Mark Abbott. "These two prominent additions will lead our mission to deliver the best possible content to soccer fans." As editor in chief, Lalas will lead the new national editorial team, manage and develop MLS’ content plan and help set digital strategy for the league. Lalas’ office will be in New York City. Prior to joining MLS, Lalas spent the last five years as the Site Director for Goal.com USA where he provided strategic management and editorial vision to Goal.com’s U.S.-focused section. His duties included recruitment, training and management of an in-house editorial team and a national network of contributing writers. He also led the development and implementation of Goal.com’s global social-media strategy and worked with the sales department to develop integrated marketing programs. During his tenure with Goal.com, the site’s U.S.-based traffic quadrupled. In concert with his Goal.com duties, Lalas served as editor of Goal.com Magazine, a monthly international soccer magazine. He managed all elements of the magazine’s editorial production and oversaw story development, assignment and editing of articles and features, and layout and design. A former professional soccer player whose career included stints with the Tampa Bay Mutiny and New England Revolution, Lalas has extensive broadcasting experience, serving as the color commentator for the New England Revolution since 2004 and also hosting "MLSnet.com’s Extratime" since 2007. Lalas’s journalism experience also includes three years with Boston magazine, where he started as a staff writer before joining the senior editorial team to oversee all aspects of the magazine. Lalas, 36, has also written for NYTimes.com, the International Herald Tribune, Penthouse magazine, Continental, SI.com and the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, among others. The Michigan native received a Bachelor of Arts in American Civilization at Brown University and a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Boston University. In his new role as managing editor, Freedman will oversee the League’s national network of content producers, manage content coordination with 16 local editors in MLS club markets and work with the digital leadership team to develop content strategy. Freedman primarily will be based in the San Francisco Bay area. Prior to joining MLS, Freedman spent five years with Sports Illustrated where he managed all operations for SI.com’s soccer section, including managing a staff of a dozen writers, assigning stories, site production, packaging content into large-scale interactive features and managing content-sharing partnerships with many media outlets. In addition, he has written many articles for Sports Illustrated and SI.com. A native of Los Angeles, the 33-year-old Freedman started his career as a reporter and researcher with Fortune magazine and Fortune.com before serving in similar capacities with Money magazine and US Weekly. He also has written articles for other media outlets, including Details, Entertainment Weekly, Mademoiselle and Rolling Stone. Freedman received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of California at San Diego and a Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University. Both Lalas and Freedman are members of the North American Soccer Reporters, the professional association for soccer journalists. Lalas can be reached at Greg.Lalas@MLSnet.com and Freedman at Jonah.Freedman@MLSnet.com. Source: MLSnet.com |